Seminars and Lectures

Water Insights is an interdisciplinary seminar series on water science, water management, and water policy sponsored by the Institute for Sustainable Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Science (SAFES). Speakers include researchers, water managers, and water policy makers from Penn State, other universities, government agencies and non-governmental organizations.

Dr. Erica Smithwick, Geography, Penn State

Ujjatant Chakravorty, Professor of Economics, Tufts University

College Connections is a monthly webinar series moderated by Dean Rick Roush to give you a unique, inside perspective of the programs, people, priorities, and partnerships of the Penn State College of Ag Sciences.

Amy Solomon, NOAA

As a leader in agricultural innovation and environmental science, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University will celebrate Earth Day with a national, virtual panel discussion focusing on environmental issues.

Anne Sylvester, Program Director of the National Science Foundation, will provide an overview of programs at NSF that support cross-disciplinary collaborative research.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, public debates about the validity of scientific findings and the value of science have intensified, as some Americans have actively resisted and even denied the legitimacy of scientific guidance about how to address the disease. What are the social and psychological drivers of public skepticism about science? How can skeptics be convinced otherwise? How do we evaluate the role of facts, of political affinity, and of personal identity in the rejection of scientific advice? According to Naomi Oreskes, Henry Charles Lea Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University, most people who reject science won’t be persuaded with more technical facts. They deny scientific findings because they do not like the implications of their veracity—what Oreskes terms “implicatory denial.” However, addressing those perceived implications—and answering the concerns or fear involved —can help us to make progress. This holds true in a range of domains, from Covid-19 denial to climate change.

Mauricio Quesada, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

The final EESI EarthTalk seminar of the semester will be a panel discussion on "How do we avoid a global hothouse?"

Water Insights is an interdisciplinary seminar series on water science, water management, and water policy sponsored by the Institute for Sustainable Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Science (SAFES). Speakers include researchers, water managers, and water policy makers from Penn State, other universities, government agencies and non-governmental organizations. The series engages the University and broader community in collaborative learning and discussion about critical water challenges from local to global scales. All seminars are scheduled for Tuesdays from 12:00 - 1:00 pm and will be held via Zoom. Zoom room open from 11:30 for setup and log-in. Meetings (video, audio, and chat) will be recorded. No waiting room, and no passcode. Participants will be muted automatically upon entry.

Penn State Alumni Association Virtual Speaker Session

The blackout left millions of Texans in the cold and dark for the better part of a week, costing billions of dollars in damages and more than 100 lives. There will also be a discussion on how the unavailability of natural gas-fired power, and of natural gas, was one of several causes of the crisis. There will be a specific focus on the role of natural gas in Texas’ competitive electricity markets.

Kamini Singha, Colorado School of Mines, US Surface water-groundwater connectivity controls on critical zone processes